


Fishing Buddies

by HowAboutThatSnapback



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Drowning, don't worry no one dies, in this story, mild violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-20
Updated: 2016-07-20
Packaged: 2018-07-25 13:08:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,625
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7533928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HowAboutThatSnapback/pseuds/HowAboutThatSnapback
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ford can’t resist Stan’s puppy-dog eyes and it’s because of this things go wrong.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fishing Buddies

**Author's Note:**

> I don't own Gravity Falls or it's characters. I merely own the plot.

Stan and Ford go fishing. For [@typona](https://tmblr.co/mwSNhl8-cZJeSCAbUPGfV3g)!~

I’m sorry that this is come _so_  much later than you probably expected… but I wrote down one idea then it changed and… yeah.

Warning: (Drowning)

* * *

“C’mon, Sixer. It’s not like I’m _severely_  allergic,” Stan insists while trailing after his brother on deck.

“ _No_ ,” Ford says firmly with his nose wrinkled stubbornly.

“But, Ford-”

“Stanley, I know you remember ‘65.”

“It’s lightened up, Ford, I promise. You can ask the kids- I didn’t break out or nothin’.”

“I don’t care, I’m not taking a risk. There are fish in the ocean that you could be _severely_  allergic to that we don’t know of.”

Back when they were kids in the summer of ‘65 the two of them went fishing with their grandfather. Stan touched the fish and he broke out and had to be taken to the hospital because a severe allergy to them. Despite that Stan always wanted to go again (but they never did) and Ford doesn’t want to take that risk. Even now he’s hesitant despite how Stan insists he could even take a couple of bites of fish and not react.

“We don’t know if we don’t try,” Stan insists.

Ford whirls on his brother on the stairs and says firmly, “I said _no_  and nothing can change my- what’re you doing?”

Stan’s shoulders are drooped and he’s stuffed his hands in his pockets and- and Ford cannot make this up if he tried- he’s- honest to goodness- _pouting_.

“Nothing,” Stan says while looking at the stairs near their boats.

“W-what’s with the face?” Ford asks helplessly- if he didn’t know any better, he’d say Mabel got her pout from Stanley.

“Nothing, let’s just go chart something,” Stanley says while waving him off.

 _Oh, Moses,_  Ford thinks with a roll of his eyes and sets himself solidly in front of his larger brother so he can’t get through when he tries to walk past. “Tell me.”

Stan keeps his hands in his pockets as he shrugs in a way that reminds Ford of when they were teenagers. “I dunno, it’s just that… I ain’t ever had a fishin’ buddy my age before an’… and now that we’re out here and we’re sailin’ around the world I figured…” Stan covertly rubs a tear from his cheek and rubs his neck to cover it up. “It was stupid anyway.”

He stares down helplessly at Stan and gapes.

 _Way to go, jerk. You just made your brother cry_ , Stanford’s subconscious says.

“It’s not stupid,” Ford says while still floundering for a way to make this better. “Stan, look… I’m only looking out for you. We don’t have the medical supplies to take care of you if you have an allergic reaction.”

Stan still refuses to look up at him and keeps his eyes downcast. “I could take an allergy pill just in case…”

Ford heaves a sigh and looks out at the water as if it will give him a way to make Stan feel better without risking it. Unfortunately an answer doesn’t come and he groans quietly.

Stan chances a look up at Ford and his eyes are a little red.

 _Shit…_  “Okay, we can… take the day off and fish,” Ford finally says.

Stan’s face lights up and he surges forward and gives Ford a bear hug. “You’re the best, Sixer!”

“Yeah, yeah,” Ford says with a smile and a bubble of pride in his chest. “But you’ve got to take the allergy pills.”

“I will,” Stan says and then puts his hands onto the railing and jumps down to the bottom steps like he’s twenty again.

Ford shakes his head fondly at him. _Moses, how does he do it?_

* * *

“Down, boy,” Stan grunts to Zeus as he tries to get the fishing bait.

“Zeus, here boy!” Ford says while patting his leg twice.

Zeus doesn’t listen and he tugs at Stan’s pant leg.

Stan frowns and says with a strong voice, “Zeus, _stop_.”

Zeus backs up and whines quietly.

Stan walks down the steps to his brother so they can continue fishing- they’ve been at it for an hour and Ford has to admit he’s having a pretty good time. Stan’s been trying to teach him knots he already knows and he’s indulged him.

“Now I’ll teach you how t’ do a barrel knot!”

Ford rolls his eyes good-naturedly.

He’s tripped by _God_  only knows what and he goes topping overboard before his brother can catch him.

“Stanley!”

And then he lands in the icy water.

For several seconds he can’t tell which way is up or down and he’s just floating adrift in the ocean.

He finally gets his bearings and lets his body float to the top. When his head breaks the surface he takes a deep breath. He’s under appreciated air since the last time he nearly drowned.

“Stanley I’ve gotcha,” Ford says while throwing a life preserver down.

Relief floods through his system and he reaches out to grab it. That relief is snatched away by horror as pressure suddenly increases on his leg and an unknown force drags him under again.

Stan tries to kick at the unseen creature, but it wraps it’s… arms around him and continues to drag him. It seems intent to drag him to the ocean floor!

He’s cold and his lungs burn when he reaches the five minute mark. He can only hold his breath for so long and with the shallow breath he took he only has a couple of minutes left at best.

The arms tighten painfully around him and he lets out all the air in his lungs to give a muffled cry of pain, but he manages not to breathe in and keeps his mouth clamped shut after that no matter how painful.

And then the water around him becomes unnaturally dark.

_I’m not passing out yet am I?_

No, it’d take longer than that, but he knows he’s going to soon.

The breaking point is just as painful as he remembers it to be as his body goes against his commands and breathes in the water. His vision is fading and everything’s muffled, but he does manage to hear a ferocious and monstrous rumble before he goes unconscious.

* * *

Ford has a white knuckled grip on the railing as he looks down at the water anxiously awaiting the reappearance of his brother.

Shadow and Zeus stand barking at the water and Ford’s scrambling to think of something.

Suddenly he remembers the strong line he’d made specifically for large beasts on the fishing rod.

“But what would I use as bait?!” Ford thinks aloud- he has to reel him in if he’s gone to deep to grab it and then the dogs pad over expectantly. “No… _No_ , I’m not going that.”

Shadow seems to give him a look that says, “Do you even have much of a choice?”

He hates when he loses an argument with something that can’t even speak.

“Fine, fine,” Ford says while grabbing the harness and putting it on Shadow. “Zeus, look after your brother.”

Zeus was the stronger swimmer out of the two- the extra fingers could contribute to that- so he’d have to be free to attack the beast while Shadow grabbed him.

After attaching Shadow to the line he says, “Go get Stanley!”

Shadow and Zeus take off into the water and Ford’s left on deck at the fishing rod waiting.

_Please don’t let it be too late, please for the love of God, don’t let it be too late._

He’s glad their dogs are half grim otherwise he’d be worried about them being down there too long as well.

After what felt like an eternity the top of the rod started to bend and he doesn’t hesitate in beginning to reel Shadow (and hopefully Stan) in.

 _You can’t just tug, you’ve gotta give a little so you don’t hurt the fish,_  Stan had told him earlier in teaching Ford to fish.

Ford lets go a little and gives a little leeway before beginning to tug again. It felt like hours, but in all actuality Stan’d probably been down there for all of ten minutes total by the time Ford finally saw Shadow break the surface of the water with Stan’s life vest in his jaws. 

Ford manages to get the two back on deck and he glances out into the water for his dog.

Zeus breaks the surface of the water barking with nearly white eyes before he phases through the bottom of the ship.

“Good boys,” Ford syas absentmindedly as he presses his ear to his brother’s chest. A faint heartbeat, but still there.

He begins performing CPR without hesitation. His heart is bounding in his ears by this point. A few minutes of this and his brother rolls onto his side and cough of the water in his lungs. Ford lets out a shuddery breath of relief and rubs his twin’s back.

“Stan?” Stan asks with a quiet, croaky voice.

“Shh, it’s alright, Stan. C’mon, lets get you outta those clothes b’fore ya catch hypothermia.”

Stan gives a weak nod and tries to help Ford as best he can. The wet clothes end up in a pile off to the side and Shadow curls around the shivering man clothed in only his boxers. Stan curls into the dog and drinks up the warmth and the air greedily- how has he taken them for granted after having lost them multiple times?

Zeus comes on deck with a large blanket in his jaws and Ford thanks him before wrapping it around his brother.

“You know this means we’re never going fishing out in the ocean again, right?” Ford asks.

“Good. I’m allergic anyway.”


End file.
